Proud Momma & Papa Beach Letter

A letter we received today from Elder Beach's Companion:

One Month Already!

Excerpts from E-mails dated September 16, 2013

Companion: Elder Buckner, Cedar Hills, Utah
Location: Apex Zone, Cary, North Carolina

This last week has been great! I went on exchanges. The elder I went with was in a Spanish ward so they spoke Spanish to everyone. I didn't really talk much when we went to visit his investigators since I don't know Spanish! but I did actually place a BoM while out on exchanges and got them a potential new investigator! I was super excited about that! 

I am so excited to be here and cannot believe I have been out for a month already! Time flies! What scares me most is my trainer says the first four months go by super slow! and right now it doesn't seem like it is so slow. So it is going to just fly by! Every day I go to bed with a smile on my face because I am so excited to be here serving the Lord, and helping the people in Cary, North Carolina. 

That is awesome for Thomas to already be serving the Sacrament! I wish I could have been there! Also can you keep me updated on who's birthdays are coming up? 

Thank you. I am so glad to hear the Broncos won! That makes me even more excited! Of course the year the Broncos go to the Super Bowl, I am on a mission. I guess the Lord knows that if I wasn't on a mission I would have blown all my money to go to the Super Bowl. 

Good thing y'all got the car fixed up before Dex started really driving! That is awesome! a purple mirror!? I don't understand why it didn't pass because of that, cause when I had it, it passed just perfectly fine! Weird! 

THE MCMULLIN'S!? I haven't met them yet, but the wife is in the Young Women's Presidency! SMALL WORLD WITH MORMONS EVERYWHERE!* (refer to earlier It's a Small Small World post dated Sept 15, 2013)

I love you and I am so excited to hear back and I am so excited to be here in North Carolina!

 Elder Beach's current ward is the Cary 1st Ward, which shares a parking lot with the Raleigh North Carolina Temple!!

 We're assuming this is the Johnson Family that graciously allowed the missionaries to stay with them until they had an apartment!

Let's keep our fingers crossed that their closets always stay this clean and tidy!

When I told Parker how happy it made me to see his sunscreen out on his dresser, this was his reply:

Also, I have not put on any sunscreen at all. I have been getting tanner! and also i may have gained a few pounds or so. I am not entirely sure cause we don't have a scale... But i have been working out everyday lately! 

Love,

Elder Beach

P.S.  PLEASE SEND ME SOME POPCORN!!

It's a Small Small World!

Sunday afternoon I received a notification that someone had posted a message on my Facebook page... 

Brian Walbeckposted toTasha Worthington Beach

3 hours ago near Tooele via mobile

So our friends from North Carolina were visiting today. I asked if they had new elders serving in their area. She said yes. I asked them if one of them might be an Elder Beach. She said she thought so. Then she asked if he was from Holladay........ Your Elder is serving in their area!

I remembered Brian posting something about some friends that live in Cary, North Carolina, but didn't really give it a second thought, because WHAT ARE THE CHANCES??? seriously!

Such a small small world!!! I love that Brian remembered about Parker serving in North Carolina and then remembered to tell us!!

Brian's friends are Russ and Cami McMullin and they are INDEED in the same ward Elder Beach is serving in!!  So awesome!!  I love these stories... so keep them coming!!

Letter from Mission President Bernhisel

Missionary Training Center Pics

August 14 - 26, 2013

Elder Holmes my MTC Companion

My District

This is Elder Savainiia from New Zealand going to the California-Anaheim Mission.

We were best buds in the MTC!

(Mom comment: Probably felt like Spencer Tautaiolefue was right there with Parker!)

Elder Anderl, use to live right next door, heading to Italy Rome Mission!

I Love It Here In Raleigh!!

First Companion:  Elder Buckner

First Area:  Cary, North Carolina, August 26 -

Sept 2, 2013

Mom & Dad & Dex,

I love it here in Raleigh!  I don't think I have stopped sweating since I have been here.  It has been super crazy lately.  So we got here at the airport & then went right over to the mission home.  We did a little role-playing and then had dinner, then had our interviews with the President.  After all that, we went with his assistants to where they were staying and spent the night there.

The next morning we went to meet our new companions!  As usual I didn't really talk much to him, then I got comfortable and started to talk.  My comp right now is Elder Buckner from Cedar Hills, Utah.  He has been out for 10 months.

So after we meet our comps we had a little devotional, then we went to get our stuff, our new address, phone and car.  We go to get our address... they had no idea where we were staying.  Then a member came in and told us he was going to show us where we are going to live.  That was Brother Mills.  He is amazing. I'll tell  more later.  Anyways, we go on to find out we don't have a phone either.  Awesome.  We're both new to the area, we don't have a phone or have a stable place to say.  Oh and we have no area book... no bueno.  We go on and find out we have a car at least.  So we get the car & follow Bro. Mills to the members place.  We get there put our stuff in our room and find out we can't stay and unpack and all that... She is having a party later that night, so we couldn't stay.  Bro. Mills takes us to his place and we talk and meet his 19 year old granson who is less active.  So we talked at his place for a few hours then went back to our place finally.  We live with the Johnson's.  They are so great!  They have welcomed us and just done so much for us!  She even went to Costco to exchange my camera as you know!  They are such an amazing family, it is great!  We talk to them every night when we get back.  We talk for hours!  So yeah, sorry, it's been super crazy so I haven't really been able to write as much as I would like.

Oh! one night the Bishop took us to a super fancy restaurant called Rey's!  I had fried oysters & scallops there! They are actually not that bad!

Hope all is well!  You are all in my prayers everyday!  I love you guys! I love this Gospel and I love North Carolina!  I cannot wait to see what else happens this next two years!  Until next time!

Love,

Elder Beach

Found Elder Park at the Raleigh/Durham Airport!! Nick Park, spanish speaking (just arrived from the Mexico MTC) & Parker Beach & Nick Neria all went to high school together and were all called to North Carolina-Raleigh!!  Such a small world!

A moth I found... HUGE!!

 The car we share with the Sister Missionaries

Yes, I actually shave.

Dex~

I don't know if you're already doing this for seminary, but try doing the Book of Mormon Experience.  What you do is you first get a paperback BofM. Then write your testimony about it in the front, then as you read, highlight in different colors:
-Doctrine of Christ
-Missionary Related
-Attributes of Christ
-What Prophets Say
-Talking about Jesus
After you finish the Book, write your new testimony on one of the blank pages in the back.

I'm so glad to be able to call you my brother.  I wouldn't trade you for anything.  I love you man, stay studly!

Love, Elder Beach

Oh yeah, I got pooped on by a bird the other day... It's good luck, right?

More from Momma Beach

Okay, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, that a wise Mom of 3 missionaries told me... 

Shhhh! 

TELL ALL YOUR MISSIONARY MOM FRIENDS---send your Missionary a phone so they can call you from the airport and during their travels.  Now here's why... we have so MANY missionaries right now! Can you imagine them all trying to use the few pay phones still left in the airports?  

Problems with airport payphones:  1. Finding a pay phone, 2. Finding money to call, 3. feeling guilty they are taking up all the time because there are 10 other missionaries waiting to use the phone too, 4. Can't talk, walk and find my connecting gate all at the same time, and 5. what if they pay phone doesn't work well. (this happened to a friend of mine, her missionary could not hear his family on the other end, the call ended with the Mom in tears because her boy couldn't hear through the crappy pay phone)

So, problem solved.  Go to Wal-Mart and purchase a Tracfone. Ours was $14.88.  There are cheaper ones and more expensive ones.  If you have a missionary going foreign, see if they have a disposable phone for international calls.

and don't forget the minutes... 

with the phone I purchased, it automatically doubled the minutes, so the 120 turned into 240!  I didn't mind having that many minutes on the phone because I wanted other missionaries to be able to borrow the phone and talk to their Momma's too.  The word must have gotten out, because Parker's companion's family sent him a phone too!

Now.  With that leaked...

Elder Beach's travels began at 3:30 am, Monday morning, so we are quite glad we didn't make telephone connections until around 6:00 am.

He sounds SO good! I think it lifted all of our spirits to hear Parker so excited for his mission!!! He said, "Mom!! I'm going to North Carolina?!  I said, Yes, I know, that's why I've been crying since October. Elder Beach said, "No.  I'm REALLY going!"  ha! ha!  He said he was traveling with 25 missionaries... Wow! even more WOWZA! when Elder Beach says they are ALL going to North Carolina!!!  That number was just uncomprehendable to John since that was a whole Zone back in John's missionary days!

Once Elder Beach arrived in Detroit he called again, with just a one hour layover, he was chatting as they were walking to their next gate, I hear him say: They have a POPEYE'S!!!

I told him, he's gonna see a lot more of those where he's going! 

 Here a pretty pic from the Detroit airport:

By the time Parker and his Dad were able to connect, Parker was already on the plane, so it was off to Raleigh, North Carolina!

Elder Beach called around 1:30pm (MST)... "MOM?? I'M IN NORTH CAROLINA!!! I'M REALLY HERE AND I CAN'T WIPE THE SMILE OFF MY FACE!!!

I loved hearing that!!  Love you Elder Beach!!  We hope you have a P-Day soon so we can hear ALL about everything else!!!